Training and Care

	Collaboration The collaborative efforts of BOTSOGO serve as a model for partnership between academic cancer centers and high burden LMICs with limited oncology resources. By involvement of more than 50 MGH/Harvard multidisciplinary faculty members and trainees to date, including medical oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, pathologists, physicians, and support staff, the initial accomplishments of BOTSOGO focus on meeting challenges related to human capital, technology, medications, and diagnostics: Capacity Building Activities.
	Innovation The introduction of cervical brachytherapy at GPH has resulted from multiple visits by MGH faculty for onsite training, treatment planning, and quality assurance. This facility is now fully operational and treats more than 50 women per month – more than any major U.S. oncology center. On-site didactic teaching and patient care from MGH medical, radiation, and surgical oncologists regarding lymphoma and breast cancer management at PMH and NRHas well as visit by MGH pathologists to assess bottleneck issues at National Health Laboratory.
	Education A full-time medical oncologist, Dr. Elizabeth Bigger, who is a faculty member of HMS and the MGH Cancer Center, is now based in Botswana as of February 2014.

Collaboration with Key Stakeholders Active partnerships have been established with the oncology teams at GPH and on the wards of the two referral hospitals, PMH, and NRF, which together treat 80% of the country’s cancer cases, or roughly 600 patients per year. Collaboration with leadership from the Botswana Ministry of Health, Botswana-Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership, National Health Laboratories, University of Botswana, Texas Children’s Hospital, the Cancer Association of Botswana, Botswana-UPenn Partnership, Baylor and the U.S. Embassy in Botswana to improve the care of cancer patients in Botswana. These organizations all participated in BOTSOGO’s first annual oncology symposium in 2014.